Mizunami – Tatsuno – the Akiba Highway Sometimes rides don’t go according to plan. This trip was certainly one of them. This one had both positives and negatives which added up to probably the most epic day in the saddle I’ve endured for a very long time. The original plan: Day one – catch the train […]

With a rugged and beautiful scenic coast, tiny fishing villages scattered along the shores, an abundance of isolated and rarely ridden mountain roads, and the Kumano Kodo (熊野古道), an ancient walking trail through the mountains, the Kii Peninsula (紀伊半島) has been an area of Japan I’ve wanted to cycle in for a long time. The […]

It’s impossible to put into words how I felt the first time I saw Mt. Fuji in all its splendour. If the weather is good and it’s the right time of year – in other words when there’s still plenty of snow on the peak – then it is simply stunning. It can of course […]

Around Lake Biwa to Kyoto Cycling to Kyoto via Lake Biwa (琵琶湖) is a popular option among cyclists in Japan and with a cycle path running nearly all the way along the lake’s eastern coast it is an easy and fairly safe way to put some good kilometres in the legs. When I first made […]

It’s no secret among cyclists in Japan that Mt. Norikura (乗鞍岳) is the highest road passable by bicycle in the country. Some call it the Japanese Alpe d’Huez but I think comparing mountains is somewhat silly. All mountains differ, and all mountains have the potential to change character within minutes. Most road bike cyclists start […]

The good thing about living in central Japan is that you are only a few hours away from the Japanese Alps. The bad thing is that these mountains make planning a bicycle route pretty difficult at times. The Minami Alps in particular are tricky to navigate from the Tokai area. This means that, for the […]

The Noto Peninsula is a region of Japan that I’ve wanted to explore by bicycle for a long time. So when I got the chance in August 2015 I jumped at it. The ride was divided in three parts, starting in Kanazawa early in the morning to beat the summer heat, riding up the west […]